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MUR
IEL BOWSER
MAYOR
May 19, 2026
The
Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
142; D.C. Official Code § 1- 523.01), and pursuant to section 403 of the Human Rights Act of 1977,
e
ffective December 7, 2004 (D.C. Law 15-216; D.C. Official Code § 2-1404.03), I am pleased to
nominate the following individual:
Joshua Blecher-Cohen
K Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(Ward 6)
for appointment as a public member of the Commission on Human Rights, filling a vacant seat formerly
he
ld by Dr. Alberto Figueroa -Garcia, for the remainder of an unexpired term to end D ecember 31,
2027.
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nclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-m entioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation. Please
do not hesitate to contact me or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel B owser
Mayor
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
:!if~~
t hairman Phil Mendelson
at the request of the Mayor
10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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15 To confirm the appointment of Joshua Blecher-Cohen as a member of the Commission on
16 Human Rights.
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18 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
19 resolution may be cited as the "Commission on Human Rights Joshua Blecher-Cohen
20 Confirmation Resolution of 2026".
21 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the appointment of:
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23 Joshua Blecher-Cohen
24 K Street, NE
25 Washington, DC 20002
26 (Ward 6)
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28 as a member of the Commission on Human Rights, established by section 401 of the Human
29 Rights Act of 1977, effective December 7, 2004 (D.C. Law 15-216; D.C. Official Code§ 2-
30 1404.01), filling a vacant seat formerly held by Dr. Alberto Figueroa-Garcia, for the remainder
31 of an unexpired term to end December 31, 2027.
3 2 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
33 upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Mayor.
34 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
JOSHUA BLECHER-COHEN
EDUCATION
YaleLawSchool 2020jD.
Honors: NationalFinalist,WilliamsInstituteMootCourtCokerFellowinConstitutionalLaw
Activities:YaleLaveJournal,ManagingEditorYaleCivilRightsProject,Co-Chair
Publication:DisabilityLawandHIVCriminalization,130YALET.J.1560(2021)
UniversityofOxford 2017M.St.withdistinctioninAncientPhilosophyHonors: Rankedfirstincohort+HarlechScholaratNewCollege(fullfunding)
HarvardCollege 2016A.B.magnacumlaudeinPhilosophyandClassics
Honors: U.S.PresidentialScholar«NationalMeritScholar*PhiBetaKappa
EXPERIENCE_
ConstitutionalAccountabilityCenter,Washington,D.C. 2025- preseutWriteappellatebriefsfiledincourtsacrossthecountryonconstitutionallaw,civilrights,humanrights,andrelatedtopics,
Developlegalargumentsbasedonhistoricalresearchforuseinstateandfederallitigation,
SupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates,Washington,D.C. 2024-2025Fellow,OfficeoftheCounselortotheChiefjustice.
UnitedStatesCourts,SanFrancisco,CA/Montgomery,AL 2022-2024AssistedinresearchinganddraftingopinionsasafederaljudiciallawclerktoJudgeMarshaBerzon(U.S.CourtofAppealsfortheNinthCircuit)andJudgeMyronThompson(U.S.DistrictCourtfortheMiddleDistrictofAlabama).
ACLUofIllinois,Washington,D.C. 2020-2022Litigatedfederalandstatecivil-rightscases,includingappellateandtrialpractice.Wrotebriefsanddispositivemotionson
statutoryandconstitutionalclaims.Developedandlitigatedcasesopposingunlawfuldiscriminationinemployment,public
accommodations,andhousing.Ledchallengetoapublicemployes’shealth-insuranceexclusion,includingsuccessfulstateappeal.Wonfederalclass-actionlawsuitagainstIllinoisprisonsystemaftertrial.Wonfirst-of-its-kindlawsuitagainstthe
federalBureauofPrisonsfordenialofhealthcare,including$1.5millionsettlement,AssistedcasesettlementafterSupremeCourtdecision.
SupremeCourtAdvocacyClinic,NewHaven,CT 2018-2020DraftedmeritsbriefsinthreeprobonoSupremeCourtcases,includingonadministrativelawandinternationallaw.Wrote
probonopetitionsforcertiorarionvatiousconstitutionalandstatutorytopics.
American CivilLibertiesUnion—LGBTQ & HIV Project,New York, NY Summer 2019
WrotelegalmemorandaanddraftedlegalbriefingonissuesaffectingLGBTQ+communitiesandpeoplelivingwithHIVforuseinfederalandstatecourt,Assistedattorneysinpreparingforargumentsinvolvingconstitutionalcivil-rightsclaims,Conductedadministrative-lawresearchonagencyrulemaking.
U.S.DepartmentofJustice—AppellateStaff,CivilDivision,Washington,D.C. Summer2019
WrotelegalmemorandaanddraftedlegalbriefingtorepresenttheU.S.government’sinterestsinlitigationbeforefederalcourtsofappealsandtheSupremeCourt.Developedargumentsunderfederalstatutesforappellatebriefing:
ConstitutionalAccountabilityCenter,Washington,D.C. Summer2018
‘WrotelegalmemorandaonconstitutionalandstatutoryissuesforSupremeCourtanaicusbriefingandstateandfederallitigation,Mootedattorneysforargumentinfederalcourt,Researchedlegislativehistoryforfederalappellatebriefing.
NOTES BarredinDC,NY. BestLGBTQ+LawyersUnder40,Nat|LGBTQ® Bar.Scholar-in-Residence,LibraryofCongress.
E
xecutive Office of the Mayor – Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
J
oshua Blecher-Cohen
M
r. Joshua Blecher-Cohen is a public-interest attorney and legal scholar.
He is a constitutional lawyer at the Constitutional Accountability Center,
where he serves as appellate counsel and drafts briefs filed with the
Supreme Court of the United States and other federal courts.
Mr. Blecher-Cohen was most recently a Fellow at the Supreme Court of
the United States in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice. He
also worked as a judicial law clerk for two federal judges; Judge Marsha
S. Berzon on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge
Myron H. Thompson on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of
Alabama.
Previously, Mr. Blecher-Cohen worked as a civil -rights attorney at the American Civil Liberties
Union of Illinois, where he challenged unlawful discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity, and disability. In that role, he litigated several constitutional cases on behalf of
transgender people in state and federal prisons, including landmark victories against the federal
Bureau of Prisons and in a class action suit against the State of Illinois. He was also involved in
the successful campaign to fully repeal Illinois’s HIV-criminalization statute.
Mr. Blecher-Cohen’s academic writing on civil- and human-rights issues has appeared in the Yale
Law Journal and been presented at peer -reviewed conferences and law schools. His article,
“Disability Law and HIV Criminalization,” developed a novel theory for using the Americans with
Disabilities Act to challenge state laws that discriminate based on HIV status, which has since
been used in litigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Blecher-Cohen also served as a
Scholar-in-Residence at the Library of C ongress. He was recognized in 2024 by the National
LGBTQ+ Bar Association as one of the Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.
A Ward 6 resident, Mr. Blecher -Cohen earned his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College, his
Master of Studies from the University of Oxford, and his Juris Doctor from Yale University.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
______________________________________________________________________________
The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724-7681
To: Kimberly A. Bassett, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: May 4, 2026
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of a resolution appointing Joshua Blecher-Cohen as a
member of the Commission on Human Rights
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above-referenced resolution and
found it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call Michael Porcello, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at
202-727-0872, or me at 202-724-7681.
______________________________
Elizabeth Cavendish